The lack of reliable data limits the ability of health providers, planners, and community members to make informed decisions that can influence the well-being of women and children, particularly in vulnerable and undercounted populations. This project supports the participatory development of an electronic harmonized reproductive health registry (hRHR). This network is expected to link timely and accurate health data from local primary care health centres to hospital settings and governorate-level planning bodies, and then back to communities in the Mafraq governorate of Jordan.

Given the high number of Syrian refugees in the Mafraq governorate, the registry will be designed to serve both refugee and non-refugee populations to address the different health needs and social contexts of the various groups. More specifically, the project will analyze existing systems and tools of sexual and reproductive health data collection and use; develop a harmonized electronic registry system using participatory approaches and established guidelines from the World Health Organization; strengthen representation of underserved groups of women, men, and youth in stakeholder meetings and governance processes; develop a dashboard of data and related analysis; assess the quality, timeliness, and reliability of data; and build the capacities of researchers and decision-makers.

The main outcomes include improved quality and timeliness of reproductive health data, better integration and inter-operability among different health facilities, a strengthened referral system, increased capacities by decision-makers and providers to use health data, and costed plans to scale up the hRHR effort to other parts of the country.

This project represents one of nine spanning two regions (West Africa and the Middle East) and two thematic topics (adolescent sexual and reproductive health and health information systems). The project is closely aligned with the Government of Canada’s new Feminist International Assistance Policy, the strategic priorities detailed in the 2016-2030 WHO led Global Strategy for Women, Children and Adolescents, and the overarching 2030 global agenda for sustainable development. It is being implemented by the Jordan-based Eastern Mediterranean Public Health Network.